This invention relates to an emesis container.
Emesis, or contents of the stomach when eliminated by reflux through the esophagus, is a noxious substance whose collection and disposal in institutional settings is an unpleasant reality. In addition to causing more or less unpleasant sensations in those charged with its handling, emesis is or is perceived to be an agent of transmission of potentially harmful biological agents. It may contain bacteria or toxins implicated in food poisoning, and in some patients may also contain blood, with an associated risk of blood-borne pathogens. Therefore there is a demand for products which permit a neat containment of emesis and minimize a possibility of exposure for hospital or other institutional staff.
Impermeable paper bags, or xe2x80x9cair-sicknessxe2x80x9d bags, provided with integral metal twist closures are known. While compact and inexpensive, these bags depend on a manual dexterity of a patient to hold them in place over a mouth region during an episode of sickness. It is considerably more difficult for a second person to hold them in position, along with aiding in a proper positioning of a patient""s head in a case of a manually incompetent or semi-conscious patient. If the bag not firmly held to a patient""s face, there is a possibility of splashing during use. Spillage after use is also a problem.
Larger, more robust, rigid plastic containers are known which overcome some of these difficulties. The containers may be provided with a screw on cap to be installed after use, and internal baffles or splash guards, which also function to limit spillage in an event an uncapped used container is inadvertently laid on a side or upended. These rigid containers, while superior to simple air-sickness bags in function, require a significant mount of storage space because of their rigidity. There is therefore a demand for a collection device which will overcome some or most of the problems of paper bags in emesis collection, while still maintaining a desirable property of compact storage.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method and device for collecting emesis from a patient.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and device for collecting emesis which reduces splashing in use.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a method and device for collecting emesis which reduces a possibility of backflow or spillage.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a substantially sanitary method and device for the collection and disposal of emesis.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method and device for the collection and disposal of emesis which requires a small volume of materials to be stored on hand prior to use.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the specification and drawings which follow.
A container for the collection and disposal of emesis comprises, in accordance with the present invention, a rigid frame and a flexible bag. The frame and the bag are, in most embodiments, stored as separate parts prior to use, and combined into a unified assembly just prior to or in anticipation of a use, as for example, in being assembled and staged on a bedside table in an institutional setting. Subsequent to use, in some embodiments, the bag is dissembled from the frame and sealed and disposed of, with the frame optionally reused or disposed of. In other embodiments, the frame and bag are disposed of as a unit, without subsequent disassembly. Frames, bags, and other optional ancillary parts of the unit are inexpensively manufactured of molded polymers or plastics, in a preferred embodiment, and are inexpensive enough for single or limited multiple uses, as warranted.
When the frame, which may be multiple part or single part, and a bag are assembled, or, in one embodiment, when delivered in a single pre-assembled unit, the frame serves to hold a mouth or rim of the bag open. The frame includes a loop or closed geometric figure, as a square, polygon or circle, which defines a shape of the open bag mouth. The frame is also optionally provided with a splash guard or baffles exemplarily in a form of flaps or a funnel, which extends from an inner circumference of the loop or closed figure into an interior of the bag. The splash guard serves to limit splashing on use and spillage on inadvertent positioning of a used unit in an orientation which would otherwise spill emesis. The baffles may take the form of opposing flaps biased to be angled into an opening of the bag, which come together in a closed rest configuration, but may be opened by a passage of liquid or semi-solids. The baffles in this case function as a check valve or one-way valve.
The baffles or baffle may also be a single molded piece in form of a frustrated or truncated apical geometric solid, such as a cone or pyramid. Such shapes, when hollow, are conventionally known as funnels. While not providing a seal against backflow, a funnel may prevent exit of material under many angles, and even complete inversion of the bag, if the inversion is not too rapid.
One optional accessory part of an emesis containment unit in accordance with the present invention is a stand. The stand serves to keep an assembled unit in an orientation or position ready for use by a patient, typically maintaining an opening of the bag substantially vertical, and possibly positioned on a bedside table. The stand, which is also disposable, may be snapped onto an element of the frame. Optionally a more permanent, stand, such a modified bedside drip bag stand or beside reading table, may be employed by means of a modified bracket design to hold an assemble frame and emesis bag in position and orientation ready for use. The patient may then use the unit by turning his head and leaning to one side in bed.
Another optional accessory part of an emesis containment unit in accordance with the present invention is a handle. A handle is conveniently built into an element of the frame. A used emesis bag may thereby be conveniently carried by institutional staff without contact with parts of the unit likely to have been contaminated by emesis. The handle also conveniently allows manipulation of a partially full bag, which otherwise lacks convenient points or areas of support.
A number of methods of attachment of a disposable emesis bag to a frame holding a mouth or rim of the bag open are contemplated. In the following description, the words xe2x80x9cmouthxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9crimxe2x80x9d are used partially interchangeably in referring to a region surrounding an opening in the bag, but more precisely xe2x80x9cmouthxe2x80x9d refers abstractly to the opening or geometric shape associated with the opening, while xe2x80x9crimxe2x80x9d refers more specifically to a region of material in a vicinity of the mouth, including a defining edge.
In a most simple embodiment a bag and a frame are shipped as a single pre-assembled unit. The bag may be joined to the frame by methods known in the art to fuse or seal plastic parts together including welding or gluing. The frame in this case remains rigid or semi-rigid while the bag or container is flexible, and may be folded compactly prior to use. In this way there is a substantial space saving over storage of a completely rigid container. A factory assembly of bag and frame allows achievement of a uniform and reliable seal at this joint. In this simplest embodiment the frame may also be provided with an integral baffle or splash guard. When the frame is square in shape, the baffle may be in a form of a truncated rectangular pyramid, or a more elegant shape tapering from a rectangular base to a circular opening. Provision of a baffle will increase storage space requirements for assembled units, but the units may still be stacked in a box ready for use, with bags collapsed between the units.
This pre-assembled embodiment may also be inserted into a disposable or permanent base assembly. Other embodiments of the invention are delivered to an end user in a greater number of component parts, and allow an increased flexibility of partial reuse clean or serviceable parts, and accompanying reduction in storage volume of the unassembled parts. These further embodiments principally include assemblies comprising a first or inner frame part, a second or outer frame part, and a separate flexible bag or receptacle. The unit is assembled in situ by snapping together first and second frame parts, with a rim of the bag trapped between, or xe2x80x9csandwichedxe2x80x9d by the frame parts.